Kyiv, Ukraine – Russia fired a barrage of missiles into major Ukrainian cities on Monday, killing at least 11 people and setting fire to one of the country's most important Orthodox monasteries.
AFP reporters across Kyiv saw residents running through the streets for shelter throughout the night as gunfire rang out in the sky and glittering debris fell across the darkened city.
In response to the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Moscow to put more pressure on G7 leaders gathered for a summit in France that was to be The US-Iranian deal to finish war in the middle east.
The violence left five people dead and 34 injured in the capital as a fire broke out at the UNESCO world heritage site of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, engulfing the roof of its Dormition Cathedral.
Valentin Ogirenko/REUTERS
“This is one of the most serious crimes in Russia against Christian culture so far,” Zelenskyy said on social media.
Founded in the 11th century, the site has great significance for Orthodox believers in Ukraine and Russia.
The Russian military said it carried out a “major strike” on military bases in Kyiv and in the Kharkiv and Dnipro regions, but denied that it had targeted the Lavra, saying without evidence that it was hit by a US Patriot air defense missile.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the attack “equals … The Associated Press reported. French President Emmanuel Macron said the attack strengthened the determination of Ukraine's allies to push for an end to the war and work for peace, AP reported.
Moscow fired 70 missiles and 611 drones, mostly at the capital, Ukraine's military said, adding that it shot down 50 missiles and 582 drones.
On a sunny morning in Kyiv, an AFP reporter saw rescue workers carefully clearing debris from the monastery as church bells rang out the Ukrainian national anthem.
Zelenskyy called on the G7 leaders to give a “strong and firm” response to the attack.
Press Service of the President of Ukraine/Handout via Reuters 
He called for “more pressure on the aggressor and more support for Ukraine's air defense, especially anti-ballistic capabilities.”
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the G7 leaders “will discuss the next steps to increase pressure on Russia, bring (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to the negotiating table, and end this senseless killing.”
“You can't beat shrines”
In Kyiv, museum worker Natalia Korol said she was “outraged” by the monastery strike.
“It's a holy house. They also say it's their holy place. You can't attack holy places,” the 52-year-old man told AFP.
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a monastery with golden icons, is revered by both the Russian and Ukrainian wings of the Orthodox Church as one of their most important spiritual centers.
Its extensive cave system contains the remains of many saints revered by both churches.
The Dormition Cathedral, which was burned in a night attack, was almost completely destroyed during World War II and rebuilt in the 1990s.
The Russian Orthodox Church administered the site through its Ukrainian branch for centuries.
In 2022-2023, monks serving in the Ukrainian branch of the Moscow church were expelled from the monastery, accused of having ties to Russia.
A building in the capital Mystetsky Arsenal National Art and Museum Complex also caught fire, according to emergency services in Ukraine.
A Ukrainian airstrike killed three people and wounded three others in the Russian city of Tula, 120 kilometers south of Moscow, regional governor Dmitry Milyaev said on Monday.
The strikes came hours after the US and Iran announced a peace deal and after Zelenskyy and Putin called President Trump on Sunday to discuss the conflict in Ukraine.
Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has turned into Europe's worst conflict since World War IIthousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of soldiers were killed.
Amid the daily pressure on its cities by Russian drones and missiles, Ukraine has in recent weeks stepped up its own airstrikes that it says are mainly targeting Russian oil infrastructure in order to reduce Moscow's war profiteering.
